Secrets to Making Your Own Baby Food

Have you ever wondered what was in that jarred baby food you feed your child? Did you know that the majority of baby foods on the market add sugar to their products, even when it is something like chicken and peas? Imagine the chemicals and excess sugar and salt that is being pumped through your baby's body, just by giving him commercial purees! For this reason, many mothers decide to give their child homemade baby food.

The reasons for making your own baby food are many. For one, you know exactly what is going into it and you are able to tailor the ingredients to what your baby needs and likes. Also, you can ensure that the baby food is fresh and prepared with only the best ingredients, as opposed to jarred ones which are often made from bruised fruits and vegetables with chemicals added to even out the taste. The price is another factor in going with homemade.

While it might seem daunting to take on the task of making your own baby food, it really is quite simple and needn't take that long. You don't need any specialized equipment, just a blender and some ice cube trays (although a food mill can be handy). There is no need to spend any money on expensive supplies since you can easily freeze the food that you make and use it later on.

For beginning eaters, your baby food will need to be soft and runny, perfect for whipping up in the blender. You can use just about any plain fruit or vegetable that has been cooked and add a little formula or breast milk to get it to the right consistency. At this age, your baby isn't able to process most raw foods yet, so stick with things like overcooked carrots and potatoes or a boiled or baked apple.

As the child grows older and begins to get teeth, he is ready for a slightly more advanced baby food. You can stop watering the food down and simply give it in puree form. This may mean that your blender won't be able to handle all loads. If this turns out to be the case, you might need to resort to mashing the food with a fork, or using a baby food mill which is an extremely handy device. Later, you will want to mash anyway, to give your baby a bit more texture.

To avoid making up minute amounts of baby food for every meal, most mothers find that it is far easier to cook up several batches of fruits and vegetables at once and freeze the extra in ice cube trays. You can either leave the food in the trays, or pop out the frozen baby food and store in Ziploc freezer bags. Just make sure you mark everything well, since frozen cauliflower puree can look just like frozen potato puree!

Later, you can just pop a cube or two of the chosen baby food into the microwave and thaw it out just in time for a meal. This is perfect for moms who are busy all week and don't have time to be preparing special baby food each night. You can easily do up to a month's worth of baby food ahead of time and freeze it.